This past weekend Jamal Abdulrasheed was given an honor that few young men, regardless of background, have received.
He was awarded the Boy Scouts of America’s coveted Eagle Scout rank during a program at Camp Belzer sponsored by the Crossroads of America Council, which represents scouting districts in Central Indiana.
“This is definitely a great honor. A lot of hard work has been put into it, but it will help me make a difference,” said Abdulrasheed, who is a freshman accounting major at the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI.
As significant as the honor is to Abdulrasheed and his family, it means even more to the general community. He was one of only two African-Americans in his district to become an Eagle Scout this year, and Scout leaders say the honor is symbolic of what young Blacks can accomplish in the present and future, despite their obstacles.
“We call getting the Eagle Scout rank the ‘mountaintop experience.’ When someone gets it, they have reached the top of the mountain and pretty much mastered scouting,” said Dauntee’ Reynolds, Scoutreach (outreach) coordinator for the Crossroads of America Council.
Eagle Scout, awarded to more than 2 million young men since 1911, is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America. Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating Scout Spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads and manages.
Abdulrasheed rose through the ranks of Scouting in a troop that his father, Dawud, a military veteran who himself grew up as a Scout, had organized for him and a group of friends to introduce them to values and virtues that are taught in scouting. Many of the other members of Abdulrasheed’s troop eventually decided to participate in other pursuits, but he stuck with Scouting.
“He saw how serious and important this was, and pursued,” Reynolds said. “Jamal is going to be someone of high stature once he gets to that level of his life because he has taken this so serious and has really tried to make the best of it.”
Dawud Abdulrasheed explained that he is not only proud of his son, and noted that the journey to getting the Eagle Scout ranking has been rewarding. His son, for example, successfully competed against several other talented students from his high school, Fall Creek Academy, to win a paid internship with Teachers Credit Union, which has led to him having a permanent part-time position.
“I was told that what put him over the top was the fact that he had been working on his Eagle Scout project,” Dawud Abdulrasheed said. “Being an Eagle Scout really gives you a boost, even when it comes to what kind of college you would like to go to or what kind of job you would like to have.”
Reynolds noted that those who become Eagle Scouts and have other significant rankings continue to receive special opportunities as adults.
“I’ve had employers tell me that they literally take applications and divide them into two piles, one for those who are Eagle Scouts, and the other for those who are not,” Reynolds said. “They throw away the other resumes and only look at the pile with Eagle Scouts, because they know that those applicants have demonstrated the qualities of leadership and working with others that their company needs.
Reynolds praised the elder Abdulrasheed for getting Jamal and his friends involved with Boy Scouts, but Dawud Abdulrasheed added that Jamal’s mother, a graduate of the Indiana Univeristy School of Nursing also deserves credit for his success.
“The brain and intellectual power comes from his mother,” Dawud said jokingly. “We have to give credit where credit is due.”
On a serious note, Dawud Abdulrasheed encourages all parents, to get their young men involved in Boy Scouts programs, even if becoming an Eagle Scout is not the goal.
“Scouting teaches everything from leadership skills, citizenship, personal finance and physical fitness to character traits such as courtesy and kindness,” he said. “It is a well-rounded program that probably wasn’t intended for African-American youth originally, but it’s here and we should take advantage of it.”
Reynolds said the Crossroads of America Council has been conducting a major campaign to get more African-American youth involved in Boy Scouts, and exposed to activities that shape character and develop lifelong goals.
Scouts for example have a chance to enjoy camping at numerous camps, whitewater rafting in Tennessee and backpacking in New Mexico.
“These experiences give a Scout a whole world view, and they can do things that kids from their neighborhood may not typically get to do,” Reynolds said. “Black boys grow up with some strikes already against them, but Scouting develops them into a well-rounded person and gives them experiences that will last a lifetime. Steven Spielberg was a Scout who had won a photography merit badge. You never know where those experiences may lead.”
For more information about the Boy Scouts of America, visit crossroadsbsa.org. or call (317) 813-7125.
A look at Black Eagle Scouts
The first
Edgar Cunningham Sr., (1910-1980), is generally believed to have been the first African-American Eagle Scout. Cunningham was awarded the rank in 1926 as a member of Troop 12 of the Wapsipinicon Area Council in Waterloo, Iowa. That same year, Cunningham received a citation from President Calvin Coolidge congratulating him on becoming the first Black Eagle Scout. He remained active with the Scouts as a mentor throughout his life.
Famous Black Eagle Scouts
• Ernest Green, member of the legendary Little Rock Nine group of students that helped integrate public schools in Arkansas. Recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.
• Guy Bluford Jr., astronaut and the first African-American in space.
• Stanford Bishop, U.S. congressman from Georgia.
• Albert Bell, five-time all-star major league baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
• Chuck Smith, retired president and CEO of AT&T West.
